bass - Where did they come from

so this past weekend I finally made it to one of the back road lakes in Kawarthas Ive been aiming to fish for years. it was a hassle getting a boat there ... took 4 guys almost the whole day.

so the day after we went there early and started fishing the lake ... small but Deep lake, maybe the cleanest lake Ive seen and its filled with bass ... hard to not catch them kind of lake.

while fishing, my friends kid raised an interesting question, which none of us could answer, so I bring it to you. where did the bass come from ? I know they are not native species, they didnt "Evolve" there ...

anyone have info on the origin ? was it originally stocked and then took over and started multiplying naturally ?

there are no rivers running into this lake, and there are many similar ones in ontario ... were they ALL stocked at one point in history ?

any links, or information about our lakes and how the walley and bass and perch made it to each, would be greatly apprecaited. Cant leave the kid thinking the Pelicans that brought him bring fish to the lakes too lol

Not sure if this happens with bass but i know that wading birds like herons can have fish eggs stick to their legs and feet and then the eggs get subsequently dislodged in different bodies of water. Have heard stories of different landlocked water bodies getting populated fairly quickly via this method. Have also heard that ducks/birds can eat and then poop them out unharmed.

Fish Eggs Survive Journey through a Duck | Scientific American

A Swan Swallowed This Fish Egg, Pooped It Out—and Then 49 Days Later, It Hatched | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com)

Two common culprits: bait dumping and deliberate transplants.

It wasn’t all that long ago that bass in NW were rare. Fast forward to today and bass can be found in a large number of water bodies from Kenora to Thunder Bay.

I love walleye fishing and in my opinion bass are an invasive and nuisance species. Yes they can be fun to catch, but so is tuna… they just don’t belong here. Once they move into a lake, they just take over and walleye numbers drop.

Bass were introduced into Canada via stocking and spread via watersheds, flooding and the methods mentioned above. The first Canadian distribution of adult Smallmouth Bass took place in 1873, restricted to Ontario in the Great Lakes and down through the St Lawrence River system. By 1884 in response to public demand and right up to the late 1900s Smallmouth Bass were being stocked throughout Ontario as well as other parts of Canada as a cost-effective method of providing food for local fishermen while also ensuring recreation for tourists.

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Originally Posted by Pioneerfreq

Bass were introduced into Canada via stocking and spread via watersheds, flooding and the methods mentioned above. The first Canadian distribution of adult Smallmouth Bass took place in 1873, restricted to Ontario in the Great Lakes and down through the St Lawrence River system. By 1884 in response to public demand and right up to the late 1900s Smallmouth Bass were being stocked throughout Ontario as well as other parts of Canada as a cost-effective method of providing food for local fishermen while also ensuring recreation for tourists.

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We have archeological dig sites in the Kawarthas that date back 4000 years. Garbage middens at these sites show that both species of bass were naturally present and were utilized as a food source. Kawarthas had muskellunge, LMB, lake sturgeon, American eel, white and redhorse suckers, and Atlantic salmon. Contrary to the belief that walleye are not native and were stock in the 1880's, it has now been proven by C14 dating that Walleye were indeed present throughout the Kawarthas 850 - 4000 years ago.

Not sure about the Kawarthas, but further North along the rail lines MNR used to dump smallmouth bass into every river the railroads crossed. Not sure of the years - 20s and 30s maybe?

Re: the fish eggs/fry on Heron legs. It seems far-fetched. But I've seen minnows/bass/brown bullheads in new ponds which are isolated with no way for a fish to swim to it. They get there somehow - and this theory is the most believable.

You might be interested in this.

https://docslib.org/doc/7152579/hist...ing-in-ontario

...and a cool interactive map.

Historical Fish Stocking Data | Historical Fish Stocking Data | Ontario GeoHub (gov.on.ca)

Hey Werner - do you know how to do a data query for one of the spots on that stocking map?

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Originally Posted by Fenelon

Hey Werner - do you know how to do a data query for one of the spots on that stocking map?

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Are you using a pc/laptop or mobile device? For a pc/laptop just click on the dot - it should pop up a window telling you what species, year and size class was stocked - along with a bunch of other info.